"Rain is bad for buisness..." The white-haired woman sighed as she turned the sign on her shop. It was a cold, wet day, with little intrest in her wares, Arachne was just about to head home. She turned to leave when a noise coming down the road caught her attention. It was the sound of a horse making its way through the thick mud, slowing as it got closer to the shop. Arachne quickly unlocked the door and turned the lights on. Maybe she could get a profit out of this slow day yet!

The horse stopped at the door, and a figure covered in a thick cloak entered. The person was tall and slightly stocky, and looked around the store with little intrest. Arachne, trying to keep this figure in the shop, ran over with a tray of sample wares. "Welcome to Arachne's!" she said, "Would you like to try a sample of our local products?" The figure just removed his cloak, revealing his rich clothing and noble crest of the house of Courage around his neck. Arachne stared at it, fingering her own commoner crest of the house of Love. The young man looked at her and calmly said, "I wish to see your other wares." Arachne looked at the young man closely, but when he did not waver she shrugged and pushed on a wall, reveling a hidden door.

Behind that door was a rich assortment of gaudy cortesans, each craving the young lord's attention. The lord ignored their flirtations, instead looking each over for a quality he needed. Arachne shut the door and ran over to him, quickly making introductions. "The best cortesans from the whole kingdom are here. Each with his or her own special characteristic." She said, showing off the preening cortesans.

However, as the young lord searched, his eyes were drawn to a single boy off to the side, bedecked in jewelry and glittering accents. His hair was a golden blonde, shimmering with hiddden jewels, and his eyes were as bright as the sapphires around his neck. The lord found himself stepping towards the cortesan, while the others flocked for attention. This one seemed to radiate calmness, as if he was confident in the lord's choosing. Arachne noticed the attraction, and hovered near the lord, chattering about the cortesan. "He is the best of the best milord, the sun out of all. Yamato, he is called.." She said, hurridly explaining, "he might be a bit much for you, if this is your first time. Try another, maybe."

Arachne stopped, knowing the look in the lord's eyes, and turned to a room. She unlocked it, then went back up front to tend her shop. The lord smiled at the courtesan, noticing the looks the others were giving. "Yamato?" The lord asked, taking the soft hand of the courtesan. "If that is what you wish to call me." The cortesan replied, speaking in a sensual purr. The lord smiled again, and closed the door to the room, leaving them alone. "I am Taichi, heir to the house of Courage." he said, pulling out the royal crest. Yamato just laughed and slid closer to the lord. "Crests mean nothing here..I don't care." He said, running his arm up Taichi's side. Taichi slipped away, pulling out the lone chair in the room. "I have not come for your art, courtesan, though I would relish a try. I'm here because of this." With that, Taichi pulled a royal crest out of his pocked, with the glitterng blue showing its house.

Yamato laughed again, this time pulling Taichi into a gentle kiss. "Crests mean nothing to me." He said again, but Taichi did not put it away. "This would belong to the crown prince, and heir of Friendshp. I heard..that this heir was located here." Taichi said, watching Yamato's eyes darken with anger at being rejected. "What does this mean to me? I have no crest, no one here does. Are you trying to be superior?" Yamato hissed, pulling the crest from Taichi's hand. Suddenly, it burst into light, a soft blue glow. The courtesan dropped it, startled, as Taichi smiled knowingly. "I had a feeling," Taichi said, "that you were he. We were friends. Don't you remember?" Tai asked, searching for recognition in Yamato's eyes, but finding none.

"Very well." Taichi said, getting up from the satin chair and heading for the door. "Keep it, and maybe you can find me again." He said, that turned to leave. Yamato stared as he left, angry and confused at the same time. "Ken." A command. "Ken, get in here." A tall dark-haired boy entered the room, eyes focused on the blue crest. "Yamato, what happened? You usually keep them much longer. Hard to please?" He asked, sitting next to his friend. Yamato looked at the only person he had ever trained in his art, and put the crest to his lips. Ken gripped his arm sympethetically, and could only imagine what had coused Yamato's emotion.

Suddenly Yamato sat bolt upright, clenching the crest in a tight fist. "I'm going to follow him." He said. "I will follow and learn. He sounded..true." Yamato said, putting the royal crest around his neck. Ken looked at his determined friend, than came to a decision. "I will come too," he said, "and help. I know Clayr fighting..I can fight off bandits." Yamato almost refused, bu something in Ken's voice told of futility. "Very well" he said, as he rose and left the room. "We will leave tomorrow, when Arachne is gone. I will find this lord, and he will tell me about this crest..and me."